Top Ten Worst Super Bowls In NFL History
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Super Bowl XLIX is only a few short days away and it promises to be a great contest between two top-tier teams, the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. Of course, the same 'great game' hype was surrounding last year's Super Bowl between the Seahawks and Denver Broncos, and we all know how that ended. Seattle took a very early lead and never came close to looking back, and the game was a snoozer by halftime.
Over the years there have been some very exciting Super Bowl games, but the bad ones far exceed the good ones. There was a string of games during the 1990's that seemed to get worse with each passing year. Thankfully, we've been fortunate enough to have had some really good Super Bowls in recent history. Now we can only hope that the trend continues on Super Bowl Sunday this weekend, but in the meantime I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of the biggest Super Bowl stinkers. In no particular order, here's the list:
Super Bowl XLVIII: Seattle 43 Denver 8
We kick off our list with the most recent icky Super Bowl. The hype that built up for this battle of two powerhouses, Peyton Manning's Broncos against Russell Wilson Seahawks, had football fans across the country extremely excited. The thinking was that this could be one of the best Super Bowl's yet. Unfortunately, the game didn't even come close to the billing.
From the first play of the game, a bad snap that ended in a Broncos' safety, it seemed that Denver never really had a chance. Manning's high-scoring offense was shutout during the first half, and Seattle came out and returned the second half kickoff for a touchdown. By the time Denver got on the board, the Seahawks had opened up a 36 point lead.
Super Bowl XXIX: San Francisco 49 San Diego 26
This was another game that seemed to be over rather quickly. 49ers quarterback Steve Young, finally getting his chance to lead a team in the Super Bowl, put on a performance that is still remembered for its precision and dominance. Young found fellow Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for a touchdown on the third play of the game, and by halftime he already had four TD passes and a 28-10 lead.
Young's predecessor, the great Joe Montana, held the record for touchdown passes in a Super Bowl with five. It took Young less than three full quarters to equal Montana's mark, and with 13:49 left in the game Rice would catch the sixth and final TD of the game for the 49ers. Young had been living in Montana's shadow for most of his career but finally got the monkey off his back with his record-setting performance in Super Bowl XXIX.
Super Bowl XXXIII: Denver 34 Atlanta 19
This Super Bowl was already a letdown before the teams arrived in Miami for the game. It's crazy to think that would be the case when it's a pair of 14-2 teams vying for the title, but that's exactly what happened due to Atlanta's mega-upset over the 15-1 Minnesota Vikings in overtime of the NFC Championship Game. The Super Bowl wasn't nearly as close as the final score would lead you to think.
Atlanta's high-powered offense marched the ball up and down the field but couldn't convert inside the Broncos' 30-yard-line, turning the ball over three times (twice via interceptions and once on downs) and missing a field goal. Denver held a commanding 31-6 lead early in the fourth quarter of what would be John Elway's final NFL game. Elway was voted MVP of Super Bowl XXXIII.
Super Bowl XX: Chicago 46 New England 10
The most surprising thing about this game is that the Patriots were able to score a touchdown on the impenetrable '85 Bears defense. Even those in New England had to know that they didn't stand a chance against the 15-1 Bears that year. Chicago was hands down the best team in the NFL and when the Cinderella Patriots showed up on that Super Sunday, midnight came a few hours early.
Chicago steamrolled their way to the Super Bowl by shutting out both of their NFC Playoff opponents, the New York Giants and the Los Angeles Rams. They remain the only team in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl without giving up a point in the conference playoffs. The Bears held a 23-3 lead at halftime, holding New England to minus-19 total yards on just 21 offensive plays (only four of those plays went for positive yards) in the first two quarters. By the time the game was over, Chicago had recorded seven sacks and held the Pats to a record-low 7 rushing yards.
Super Bowl XXXV: Baltimore 34 NY Giants 7
Aside from the game we just discussed, Super Bowl XXXV featured one of the most dominant defensive performances we've seen in almost fifty Super Bowls. The game started with both teams playing sound defense and Baltimore holding just a 10-0 lead at halftime. New York had several promising drives but penalties and turnovers would doom them from winning this game.
By the time all was said and done, Baltimore forced five turnovers and had four quarterback sacks. They held the Giants offense to just 152 yards, with New York's only score of the game coming on a 97-yard kickoff return after the Ravens had gone up 24-0. Unless you're a big fan of defense, this game had little to offer in terms of entertainment.
Super Bowl XXII: Washington 42 Denver 10
The Broncos will show up on this list more than any other team and unfortunately for fans in Denver, that isn't a good thing. John Elway led the Broncos three Super Bowl appearances in four years in the 80's, with this one being the second of the three ugly losses. After the previous year's second-half meltdown against the Giants in Super Bowl XXI, things seemed to be working in Denver's favor against Washington.
Elway led the Broncos to a 10-0 lead after the opening quarter, but that's when the flood gates swung open for Washington. Doug Williams, the first African-American quarterback to start a Super Bowl, led the charge in one of the most dominant quarters ever seen in a football game. Washington outscored Denver 35-0 in that second quarter, scoring touchdowns on five consecutive drives. What's really impressive is that they scored all those touchdowns on just 18 overall plays in 5:47 of possession time. Williams, the eventual MVP of Super Bowl XXII, completed 9 of his 11 passes that quarter, throwing for 228 and four TD's.
Super Bowl XXVII: Dallas 52 Buffalo 17
It's hard to imagine a team that dominated the AFC as much as the Buffalo Bills did during the early 90's would lose four consecutive Super Bowls, but that's exactly what happened. Super Bowl XXVII would be the ugliest of the Bills title-losses as the upstart Cowboys jumped all over Buffalo every chance they had. The game actually started well for the Bills, forcing a three-and-out on the Cowboys opening possession and then blocking the ensuing punt to set them up with great field position.
Up 7-0, Buffalo forced another Dallas punt and found their way to midfield. That's when the game changed in the Cowboys favor. A Jim Kelly interception led to Troy Aikman's first touchdown pass to tie the game at 7, then on the first play of Buffalo's next drive Kelly fumbled after being sacked at his own 2-yard-line and the Cowboys recovered for another TD. The two scores in a span of 15 seconds are the shortest time between touchdowns in Super Bowl history. One interception and two drives later, Kelly would re-injure a knee that kept him out of several games that season. Dallas never let up, putting an exclamation point on the game with three unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Super Bowl VIII: Dolphins 24 Vikings 7
While fans in South Florida undoubtedly loved their Dolphins' second straight Super Bowl win, the game was a bit of snoozer for the rest of the nation. Miami jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead with touchdowns on their first two drives, led by bruising running back Larry Csonka. Minnesota didn't put up much of a fight, though they did have a chance to crawl back into the game late in the first half.
Trailing 17-0 and not having driven the ball past their own 27-yard-line, the Vikings put together a 74-yard drive that took them all the way down to the Dolphins 6-yard line. Facing a fourth down and one, Minnesota went for it instead of trying the field goal and were ultimately stopped by the Dolphins' "Killer B's" defense. Overall Miami gained 250 rushing yards, with eventual game MVP Csonka picking up a then-record 145 of them. Miami QB Bob Griese threw just seven passes in the entire game, with the second half scooting by on mostly running plays.
Super Bowl XVIII: LA Raiders 38 Washington 9
Another game that was hyped up to be a solid matchup between a defending champion and an up-and-comer, Super Bowl XVIII turned out to be as flat as 10-day old cola. Washington came into the game as big favorites, having won the previous year's Super Bowl and compiling a 14-2 record en route to this one. Los Angeles quickly put thoughts of a repeat to rest, blocking a punt and recovering it in the end zone less than five minutes into the game to go up 7-0.
The Raiders scored on offense, defense and special teams during the first half and became the first team in NFL history to score two non-offensive touchdowns in a Super Bowl. Washington sealed their fate with seven seconds left in the first half. Buried deep in their own territory, they elected to run a play instead of just taking a knee, and quarterback Joe Theismann threw a horrible screen pass that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Los Angeles set then-records for most points scored in a Super Bowl and largest margin of victory.
Super Bowl XXIV: San Francisco 55 Denver 10
You guessed it, we saved the best (er, worst) for last. San Francisco came into this game as defending NFL champions, while Denver had lost back-to-back Super Bowls the two years prior. Unfortunately for John Elway and the Broncos, this game wouldn't go any better than their previous two trips. The 49ers scored a touchdown on their opening drive but that was followed by a Denver field goal to make the score 7-3. That would be as close as this game would get.
Trailing 27-3 after halftime, Elway opened the second half by throwing interceptions on the Broncos' first two drives. Poor Elway was pummeled on this Super Sunday, throwing for a total of just 108 yards and getting sacked six times. San Francisco was very consistent in this game, scoring two touchdowns in every quarter. The Niners gained 461 yards of total offense and held the ball for nearly two-thirds of the game.
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